


Black Hayate

by altoinkblots



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Moms Made Fullmetal 2020, No Proofreading We Die Like Men, Post-Episode: e37 The First Homunculus, black hayate is her dog son, riza is a dog mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24361768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/altoinkblots/pseuds/altoinkblots
Summary: After Riza's encounter with Pride she goes back home to her empty apartment. Good thing Black Hayate is there to help Riza feel more at home.
Relationships: Black Hayate & Riza Hawkeye
Comments: 13
Kudos: 18
Collections: Moms Made Fullmetal Week 2020





	Black Hayate

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on the "write this in half an hour and post it" train, because that's apparently the only way for me to get over writer's block. As usual, this was not proofread but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
> 
> This was written for Moms Made Fullmetal 2020. Today's prompt is family, love, or baby talk; I mushed together the family and love ones, because Riza is a Dog Mom who loves Black Hayate, and he loves her right back.

Riza put the phone down with shaking hands. Even though he wasn’t here, she could still feel him; his tendrils wrapped around her, restraining her, cutting her cheek, the wound still stinging against the open air…

_ I will be watching you. From the shadows.  _

Black Hayate whimpered. Riza sat down, her back against the wall. Black Hayate padded over to her and gently climbed into her lap. Normally she had a rule about dog hair on her uniform, but now she didn’t care.

“His timing is so uncanny,” she mumbled to her dog. Black Hayate blinked and nuzzled her nose. Riza let out a wet chuckle. “Yours is too.”

Black Hayate plopped down on her legs, his tail moving against her thigh. Riza blinked back hot tears. Still trying to keep Black Hayate on her, she reached up and flicked the light switch on. Yellow light flooded her apartment, and Blake Hayate perked up. He looked at her and yipped. 

Riza smiled down at him, her hand running over his smooth fur. His nose found the palm of her hand and he nuzzled it with his nose before licking it. Riza smiled. 

Black Hayate stood up, still on her legs, placed his front paws on her chest and licked her face. 

“Ow ow ow ow ow,” Riza said, repositioning his paws to a more comfortable spot. “There. How about that?”

The dog cocked his head to the side before stepping off of Riza. He bit the sleeve of her coat and tugged. 

Riza rolled her eyes. “I don’t really want to move right now.”

A few moments later, Black Hayate stopped tugging on her sleeve. He shot a glare her way, which only made her laugh. He huffed and walked over to his corner where his bed and several toys lay. He picked one out and brought it over to Riza. It used to be a fuzzy, plush bone that squeaked, but Black Hayate had ripped through the toy so many times that it was a matted mess of fluff that made a sad wailing noise whenever he played with it. He dropped it at Riza’s side before going to his corner and bringing another toy back. This one was an old ball that Riza had played with as a child that had found more love and use in Black Hayate’s paws than Riza ever had. 

Black Hayate sat down, his tail wagging behind him. 

“Do you want something?” asked Riza. 

He blinked and nudged the toys closer to her. Riza picked up the ball and rolled it across the floor. Black Hayate watched it go before taking the formerly-fuzzy bone and dropping it in her lap. He looked back up at her. 

She picked the toy up and hung it in front of Black Hayate’s face. If she didn’t know better she would say that he rolled his eyes; but he pushed past the toy and climbed back into her lap and put his head on her chest. His warm eyes stared at her and he yipped softly. 

Riza put the toy on his nose, but he shook it off. He rose to his feet, his front paws digging into her abdomen, and licked the cut on her cheek. It stung, and his paws  _ really _ dug into her stomach, but she was glad she wasn’t alone.

Black Hayate moved again, the absence of his front paws on her stomach instantly relieving, and curled up on her lap. He wasn’t completely calm, however. He kept staring at the mutilated toy bone, his tail swishing back and forth like a cat’s. 

Riza smiled and put the toy next to him on her lap. He snatched it in his jaws and shook it back and forth, his eyes closed. 

Riza knew she wouldn't be sleeping tonight. Her encounter with Pride still hung in the back of her mind and she would be lying to herself if she said that she was perfectly fine. 

Black Hayate rolled off of her legs. He trapped the toy under his paws and pulled with his teeth, growling ever so slightly. Riza scratched behind his ears and he immediately perked up and looked up at her, his eyes big and warm. After a few moments he turned back to his toy. 

Riza stood up and walked over to where the old ball had rolled off to. She sat down there, making sure she was far away from any shadows, and rolled the ball over to her dog. It bounced off of him, but he pounced on it before taking it in his mouth and bringing it over to her. She took it and waved it in her hand. “You want this? You want the ball? Go get it.”

She rolled the ball away from her and Black Hayate chased after it. The ball bounced off of the legs of the table and some of her still-unpacked boxes and into darkness. Black Hayate followed it, his claws scratching against the floor as he ran. 

_ I will be watching you. _

Ice gripped Riza’s heart.

_ From the shadows. _

She crawled to her feet. “Black Hayate?” Her voice shook.

He padded out from the shadows with the ball in his mouth. Riza let out a sigh of relief. Black Hayate dropped the ball at her feet and looked up at her. She knelt down and pulled her dog into her arms. She stood up and Black Hayate shifted so he was more comfortable. She went to her bedroom—it was more like a closet, with her clothes hanging from the windowsill and a mattress on the floor—and put Black Hayate on the mattress. He looked up at her, clearly nervous. 

“Just this once,” Riza said, changing out of her uniform as quickly as she could. “Do you understand? This is a one-time deal.” 

Pajamas on, uniform hung up, lights on and window open. She couldn’t be in the darkness, not tonight. 

“Come on,” she said, tucking the blankets around her. She held out her hand, palm up: an open invitation. Black Hayate sniffed it and padded over to her, the mattress dipping where he stepped. Riza turned to her side and Black Hayate nestled himself in the crook of her knees. He spun around a few times before plopping down, barking once. Riza counted her breaths, but Black Hayate didn’t move. Outside her window the half-moon shone so bright she couldn’t even trace patterns in the stars. Below, a car sped past.

Slowly, she sat up so she could see Black Hayate. He didn’t stir. A soft breeze blew through the room and the dog shook his head, still sleeping. Riza lowered herself back down. She doubted that she would sleep, her encounter with Pride kept running through her head. 

Even with that, Black Hayate’s breathing soothed her. Not completely, she hadn’t been completely calm since Ishval, but the love and loyalty Black Hayate had shown time and time again made her think that maybe everything wasn’t so bad. Yes, the country she served was corrupt and built on lies and she was a hostage in some sick game. But here, in her home with her dog, the horrors almost seemed further away. 

_ Maybe I should let him sleep in my bed more often. _


End file.
